By Lillian Sopera Keneqa, EMTV News – Port Moresby
In a small ceremony at the St John Ambulance Headquarter in Port Moresby, the Malaysia Association in Papua New Guinea donated K40, 000 to St. John Ambulance.
St. John Ambulance Chief Executive Officer, Commissioner Mathew Cannon thanked the Malaysia Association for this much-needed donation.
He said, “The money will go towards converting two of the ambulance buses to Four Wheel Drive (4WD) and purchasing new radios.
St. John will be upgrading five of the ambulances donated from APEC to be more suitable for the road conditions in settlement areas of NCD.
Commissioner Cannon also said, “St. John operates mainly in Port Moresby and Central Province and with the rough terrain, mostly on the outskirts of Port Moresby and in Central Province, we need off-road suitable to allow our Emergency Medical Technicians and Paramedics to reach patients quickly.”
These modifications include upgrading the suspension to increase ground clearance, ensure a smoother ride for the patient and adding metal plates to the underbody of the ambulance to protect it from large rocks.
St. John raises funds to help give free ambulance care to vulnerable groups: women in labour, children under 5 with serious illness and people injured by domestic violence and accidents.
Most of this funding comes from the fee-based services, St. John provides, such as the corporate ambulance membership program in NCD, high-quality aeromedical evacuations, first aid training for business and support from generous sponsors
